The Great Escape
Various Venues, Brighton | 8-10 May
SXSW might offer sweltering weather and decades of experience, but there’s nothing quite like ol’ Blighty when it comes to exciting musical festivals, and The Great Escape is surely one of them.
Sure, the Brighton weather is invariably unsatisfactory, and a distinct lack of tents requires many attendees to find the solace of sleep on students’ carpets, bustling hotel parties, or the last train home. It’s a festival laden with secret shows, pop-up performances and free fringe events, all of which you’ll miss after your phone dies at 5pm. But nonetheless, with the swells of crowds sweeping any passer-by into the nearest venue like waves against the pier, the weekend is one of spontaneity and jubilant discovery. Crack descended upon the stony beach of the South for Europe’s largest, bestest new music festival.
On Thursday we found Finnish former tram driver Jaakko Eino Kalevi to be easily the best-looking man of the day, and his long and silky ginger locks are matched by a funk-ridden set of Talking Heads-filtered Ariel Pink croons. Beachfront venue Coalition might not be the most sumptuous venue for the likes of his dancing Arctic atmospherics, but that doesn’t stop his saxophonist wing-woman from melting the audience with a wealth of immersive tracks. No End’s heart-pump bass could make Hugh Grant swoon.
Thundering in from New York immediately afterwards were Big Ups, who abruptly broke those hearts (and ear drums), raising hell at Audio on the Noisey Stage. The best punk band to hit our shores since METZ; we can’t wait to hear more.
Amidst a heavily guitar-led line-up across the weekend, we make a wise decision to mix it up with brilliant Irish rapper Rejjie Snow and 2013’s Loveleen EP is captivating live. But for all Snow’s melody and doe-eyed zephyr, the unstoppable force of secret guest Jonwayne is his performance’s greatest asset – credit to Rejjie for throwing a surprise that’s worth celebrating, though.
To close the evening we find that Woman’s Hour belongs in Komedia and belongs to us. The perfect ambiance of lighting and many, many TV screens; The Line of Best Fit has hooked us up with a real treat. The band end a scintillating set with the divine Our Love Has No Rhythm, leaving in their wake a hushed, astounded crowd.
On Saturday, Hate Hate Hate Records and Boon Mag’s non-festival showcase at Bleach seems awfully far away, but that doesn’t seem to have bothered the continually replenishing crowds, who are all there for the best line-up outside of ticketed events. The newly renovated venue also turns out to be one of the best, especially for the band “most-likely-to-induce-tinnitus”, Bad Breeding, and their amplified successors Kill Moon.
A selection of pints then turn out to be a well-timed contribution to the day, for our journey to catch Theo Verney is interrupted after Crack discovers some off-site dodgems. The aforementioned Brighton scuzz-man then duly delivers with a wild and grunge-riffed set that climaxes with a Freebird-infused Heavy Sunn. Both of these encounters leave our heads well-banged.
Glam-psych dandies Moodoid quite literally dazzle us in their amazing glitter laden outfits, with luxurious jams that dear Ziggy Stardust would certainly approve of. The Kevin Parker-produced outfit, visiting us from France, could have done with a later slot, in a disco, but the hungover crowd get down as best they can nonetheless.
As the evening dawns, we encounter two performances that sum up the enticing spirit of the festival. The Magic Gang’s surprise, mid-dissertation house party performance is barely visible for all the crowd-surfers in the living room, but the band’s baggy Weezer sound is a sing-a-long smash. We were disappointed to miss the supporting Bloody Knees, though we did find them the following morning at Wetherspoon’s minus a good night’s sleep. Down the road from chateau Magic we then encountered The Black Tambourines performing unannounced from the back of a van (their only show at the festival) to a ludicrously large crowd, where the party continued with riveting garage rock and even a cover of Louie Louie.
Having missed Fat White Family earlier that day due to an ill-timed game of snakes and ladders, our only choice was to attempt entry to their ridiculously oversubscribed performance at The Haunt at 1.45am. We were not disappointed, for the band’s status as one of the most thrilling live acts of the minute was easily sustained after singer Lias Saoudi emerged on-stage in his Y-Fronts, covered head-to-toe in some kind of barbecue sauce. The atmosphere is uncontainable; this is easily one of the weekend’s many highlights.
On the final day, playing a secret (ish) show for Rockfeedback and One Inch Badge, The Amazing Snakeheads swagger and snarl through a set of Glaswegian rock and roll bangers. We certainly wouldn’t want to meet them down a dark alley, but hope they spit and sway and play on a stage near us again soon (but not too near).
All We Are ensure a thoroughly heightened level of sexiness at The Haunt after to warm things up more than adequately for Jungle, whose buzz-status is satisfied with a set that’s just as worth shouting about. Busy Earnin’ is fast becoming a party anthem of such wildness it could put Brighton’s own former Mercury Award nominees The Go! Team to shame, and with an extended jam of Platoon closing their set the dancing disco entourage leave the stage as conquistadors of the Southern coast.
The final word-of-mouth dispersal of the day leads us to the bustling basement of a Superfood house party, and the writing’s on the wall here (literally, it says ‘Superfood’). BYOB is a statement rendered useless for the time being, for if you were to swing a pint here it’d probably evaporate along with all the sweat, and for that reason it is a performance of confounding excitement. Ad hoc at its hottest.
And with that we are done. All aboard the Southern services express, away from the craggy pubs and 6am beachfront rendezvous. The Great Escape, you’ve been exactly that. And a great success for it, too.
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Words: James Balmont + Lucie Grace
Photography: Jake Lewis, Mike Burnell
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